Runs in the Family
by Cookies2Cream
Summary: Angel sometimes couldn't believe how insane her family was. Did this mean she was insane too? No wings.
1. Murder?

Angel loved her family.

She really did.

Who wouldn't want a large family where there were always pranks to play, secrets for blackmailing, a chance for eves dropping at every corner or some sort of scheme being planned?

But Angel was _that_ member of the family.

Among her parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandmother she ended up becoming _that_ member of the family.

 _That_ member, who knew every affair, who knew each diabolical world ending plot and who walked in at all the awkward moments.

All of that led to Angel knowing everything about her family and just how perfectly, absolutely, positively INSANE her family was.

It was incredible she had lasted 9 years with these people.

~MR~

Her feet padded carefully on the floor boards. She walked into the room marked 'Phoenix' and closed the door behind her.

"Hi sweetie," her mother's voice called. The young woman stood behind a chair and was failing miserably at combing the hair of a squirming 2 year old.

Angel grabbed the comb from her mother and began the task herself.

"Mom," she began, then thought better of it. Pulling out her iPod she plugged it into the toddler's ears, muting her conversation from the younger girl.

"Mom, I think Nudge is trying to kill Iggy," she whispered.

Max burst out laughing.

She dulled her laughter to chuckles once taking note of Angel's serious expression. "Nudge couldn't kill a fly," she stated.

Angel rolled her eyes, so similarly to Max that the woman was forced to confront her own mannerisms through genetics.

"That's cause Nudge screams and runs out of the room. She thinks flies and wasps look alike," Angel retorted.

Max nodded, she couldn't argue with that. She also couldn't tell Angel that she didn't believe her. Last time that happened the girl's screams had the neighbours calling Social Services, which was saying something when they lived on an estate with 90 feet between their house and the neighbours.

She did have to tell her something though. "Look Angel, I think maybe Nudge is just having a rough time at the moment, give her some space cause then she'll sort through her murderous feelings. You'll see she won't kill anyone, she might threaten but she won't kill." Of course Max hadn't understood a word of what she had just said, so as she sat with her forehead creased in confusion trying to make sense of it.

Angel meanwhile decided it would be better to confront her father.

Once Angel left the room Max sighed. "Note to self: don't console children on an empty stomach."

~MR~

While on the search for her hopefully more concerned parent Angel ended up heading toward the kitchen.

Although the sight that met her left her frozen at the doorway. Her three eldest siblings were preparing dinner, except one of them wasn't contributing so much.

Nudge stood at one end of the kitchen, her eyes trained onto Iggy who was stirring a sauce of some kind. Except this wasn't her adoptive sister. Her Nudge never had such a cold look on her face but this one did. Her eyebrows were drawn together, head slightly bowed, eyes narrowed with a ferocity she never knew existing.

"Hey Nudge this knife isn't sharp enough to cut the carrots, can you hand me the sharpener?" Ella asked.

Nudge's lips turned up at the ends creating an even sinister air about the twelve year old. "I can sharpen it for you Els," she replied in a monotone that sent chills down Angel's spine. She had never heard the older girl speak that way before although Nudge's silence the last minute or so was also something Angel had never heard.

She resisted the urge to yell 'no' as her heart pounded against her rib cage.

Angel had never seen anything more terrifying in her life. Nothing as terrifying then her sister glaring at her brother while striking a knife to perfect sharpness. Especially when Nudge lightly ran her finger across the blade's tip whispering a barely audible 'perfect'.

Ella didn't seem to notice anything, she just took the knife back with a thanks.

"Oh and can you cut the meat Nudge?" Iggy called and when Nudge pulled out a chopping knife the size of her face Angel couldn't take it anymore.

She ran through the hallways almost tripping over her own feet in an attempt to escape. When she stumbled up the stairs screaming 'Daddy' they heard it.

Ella turned guiltily to her adopted siblings. "I think we've traumatised her."

Nudge looked down in shame, while Iggy looked between the two girls.

"Does this mean we're not going to make Ari believe Angel's old dolls are trying to take over the world?" he asked.

Nudge's head shot up. "Or convince Gazzy the house is haunted?"

Ella shot them both an incredulous look before walking off.


	2. Everything

Angel lay in bed. She didn't want to go down to eat dinner with killer, no matter how much her parent's tried to convince her otherwise.

Ignoring the sounds of the household, including the argument between her mother and siblings, was calming. Maybe she could forget her eldest sister was plotting murder for a while, maybe she could escape this new reality of her life.

She was soon lost in her own thoughts, until she felt the bed move below her. Her heart stopped.

 _The doors not far, I can make it,_ she thought.

But curiosity gave a much more inviting argument. She inched toward the edge of the bed and lowered her head.

She flinched and drew back. A baseball bat swung inches from her face. Her heart was racing at the near miss of her face becoming a pancake.

The moving figure under her bed didn't notice as it once again carelessly swung the bat while scuffling around. She grabbed the object and pulled it out of the figure's grasp.

"Ari get out," she growled.

The six year old shuffled out from under the bed and climbed on top.

"What were you doing?"

Ari's eyes darted around the room. It was painted a pale pink and covered with plush toys, shelves of books, a table, a dresser and cupboard of clothing, and just about everything else in the world. It all seemed to be in this one room and yet in was neat. He knew Angel liked small spaces but how she had so much stuff in the smallest room in the house and kept it in order, he couldn't understand.

"I was keeping watch," he responded.

Angel's heart started beating faster. She had no idea what Ari was talking about… and she _always_ knew what was happening with everyone in the house. Although sometimes she wished she didn't know, like with Aunt Maya and her boyfriend.

"Why?" she asked. _Does he know about Nudge?_

Ari eyes imitated hers as they widened with fear. He leaned closer and whispered. "Cause of the dolls," he said as if those words explained everything.

She frowned. "What?"

He leaned in again. "Your dolls, the ones you don't play with anymore… they gonna rule the world."

Angel sat dumbfounded. _Dolls, ruling the world?_

"I heard Iggy say that your dolls were trying to take over the world," he turned to glance at her in-built shelf that was above her dresser. It was lined with her Barbie dolls, still dressed immaculately and in perfect condition, except for one which she and Ella had given a dye job with the use of beetroot. Ari stuck up his chin and sat up straight. "I here to stop them," he affirmed.

Angel's grip on the bat tightened. She wanted to scream. After all finding out a deep dark secret of a family member was hard enough but now this nonsense. Ari was, however, her little brother and when he eventually found out the truth he'd need at least one sister to count on. That came down to her since Ella shared a room with Nudge, meaning either they were teaming up or Ella was going to be the next victim.

She decided not to scream.

"Dolls are not going to rule the world Ari. They're not alive. Iggy was just tricking you."

Ari shook his head wildly. "Nuh-uh. They are."

"You shouldn't believe everything Iggy tells you. Sometimes he makes stuff up because he thinks its fun." She felt quite proud at how mature she sounded. "Trust _me_. I know everything."

Ari didn't look impressed at all. "No you don't." He folded his arms and suddenly looked just like their mother. "You don't know everything. You think Nudge is a killer. But she was just pretending. I heard her and Iggy say so."

Angel was put out. This was impossible but then Ari hardly ever lied.

"And nobody knows everything."

"Daddy does," she retorted.

"Daddy's always saying he doesn't know things. Like when mommy tried to cook and he said 'I didn't know non-flammable pans could go up in flames'," he argued, his un-forgetting mind recalling each word his father had spoken. _Stupid genius little brothers._

Ari reclaimed his bat and slithered back under the bed when Angel didn't reply.

She flopped back onto her pillow, resuming her thoughts.

Maybe she didn't know everything, however she felt a little insulted that her baby brother had to point that out for her. She wouldn't be fooled so easily next time.

Of course that didn't make her family any less insane.

From her window came a clear view of her mother burying several items, including Iggy's Xbox, luckily wrapped in plastic, Nudge's favorite (and expensive) makeup and Ella's tablet, in the soil of the rose garden lined along the fence. Grandma would _not_ be happy about that.

* * *

Ages:

Max & Fang: 30

Iggy: 14 (adopted)

Nudge: 12 (adopted)

Ella: 11

Gazzy: 9

Angel: 9

Ari: 6

Phoenix: 2


End file.
